Accident Prone
by Confessions of a Yandere
Summary: When you first stepped into the halls of your new academy, you weren't counting on running into any friendly faces so soon. At least, not as literally as it turns out. It's not long before you realize that you're in for a whole lot more excitement than you signed up for, and a whole lot more of a certain British gentleman… (Reader X England)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So this is the product of a fluff exchange between a dear friend and myself, and promises to be quite entertaining... hopefully to you all as well. Even if your name isn't Laurel. **

**Please, leave a review! Reviews are good! ^_^**

* * *

Your new school was pretty strange.

That's all you could think to yourself as you walked down the enormous main hallway on your way to your first class of the year. This place sure was beautiful, with the ornate chandeliers high overhead and intricate iron workings over the tall windows lined along the right side. It looked like something straight out of Ouran High School Host Club. You realized how extremely lucky to have received a scholarship in order to attend here at this prestigious academy, but you couldn't help feeling a bit inferior compared to all this extravagance. You didn't feel that you quite fit in.

You were also a bit nervous. In all your life, you'd never been used to anything this massive. Your home town where you had spent most of your life was pretty small and relaxed, especially compared to this place. It was all very overwhelming.

Students filled the hallways, hundreds of unfamiliar faces rushing past in the regular bustle of the first day of school. Balancing your books in one arm, you surreptitiously pulled out a map of the academy to find out where on earth you were supposed to be headed. The physics classroom had to be somewhere in the science wing, which was on the other side of the building. "Room 509… room 509… room 509…" you muttered, trying to locate the number on the diagram. Why did this have to be so confusing? You almost missed the narrow, straightforward hallways of your old high school.

With a vague idea of your destination, you folded up the map and stuck it back in your jacket pocket. Up ahead there was a bend in the hallway. You would turn left, and then go right, and then…

Just as you turned the corner, something careened into your side, sending textbooks spinning and knocking you off your feet. Your knees hit the polished floor of the hallway, your hands flying out in front of you as a heavy weight landed on top of you. Already, you could feel bruises beginning to form.

"Ouch…" you muttered angrily, feeling for your glasses that had skittered away across the floor. What the heck. Seriously? As if you weren't already having a hard enough day.

"Ack—er…" A panicked voice sounded from on top of you. "Oh my goodness, I'm terribly sorry!"

"Try getting off me before you apologize. Jeez." You tried to pull yourself out from underneath whoever it was. You realized people were staring, and your face began to turn red.

"Pfft, Arthur!" You heard another voice nearby. "Smooth move, bro!"

"YOU PUSHED ME, YOU BLOODY WANKER!" You felt the weight removed as he began to pick himself up.

"Hahahaha! You pushed yourself, dude!" The guy walked around the mess of papers and textbooks and offered you his hand. As he helped you to your feet, you looked up into a lively face with a huge grin plastered across it. Blue eyes sparkled behind rimmed glasses. "Sorry about my friend here! Seriously, he's such a klutz!"

"I'm not your friend!" A voice shouted behind you. You turned to see a pair of green eyes beneath some unusually bushy eyebrows. His face turned red as soon as he saw yours. "Er—I'm truly sorry that happened. Are you alright?" He fumbled, cheeks burning with embarrassment. He noticed the books you had dropped and got down on his knees to pick them up.

"Yeah, I guess I'm ok," you said, joining him on the ground to clean up the mess. For some reason, you didn't feel that angry anymore. Just bruised and disoriented.

"I've got it!" The taller young man swept up your books into a messy stack and stood up holding them in his arms. "Don't worry! Heroes love carrying people's stuff!"

"After they knock them over," growled the one with green eyes, glaring at the other as he brushed himself off and straightened his necktie.

The guy holding your books didn't seem to hear. He shifted them to one arm and held out his hand to you, beaming. "I'm Alfred," he declared as you shook it, "and this guy over here is my sidekick, Eyebrows."

"I AM NOT!" The other young man attempted to strangle him. You watched the two scuffle a bit before he stopped and reached out his hand to you as well. "My name is Arthur. Arthur Kirkland."

"I'm Laurel," you replied as you shook hands, a bit baffled by the scene unfolding in front of you. This school was getting stranger and stranger by the minute.

"So where are you headed?" Alfred asked you.

"Umm, I'm supposed to be going to physics, but I'm not quite sure how to get there."

"Hey! That's great! We're heading down towards the mathematics wing, so we'll be passing by there. I can totally show you where your class is!" He started down the hallway carrying your textbooks.

Feeling a bit relieved, you followed down the hallway. You definitely hadn't expected to make friends with anyone so easily, especially before the first bell had even rung. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

After physics, world history, and psychology class had passed, however, you were still feeling overwhelmed. Especially now that the midday break had begun, and you were expected to somehow find a group of people to join for lunch in the common area.

Instead of sitting awkwardly by yourself at a table, you decided to take this opportunity to see more of the school. Large buildings had always intrigued you, plus you were pretty excited to see the grounds outside. Without wasting time, you had passed through the doors and into the warm sunshine of the gardens.

There were a few people milling about, sitting on the edge of the fountains, horsing around on the neatly trimmed grass. Someone had brought a football and was kicking it around, trying to start a game. You wandered along the path, making your way towards a small wooden bridge sitting over a stream. It was a nice little bridge, you thought to yourself as you reached it and ran your fingers over the rough wood. You stopped and leaned against the railing, looking down at your reflection in the clear water below.

"Oi— Laurel, isn't it?" You heard a voice call from the path behind you, and turned to see the same young man who had crashed into you that morning in the hall. He walked up to you, holding something in his hand. "Sorry, but I've been trying to find you. I think I have something of yours."

You watched as he held out a silver watch on a long chain. "Hey," you exclaimed. "That is mine! How did you get it?"

He dropped the trinket into your open hand. "Er— I found it in the hallway after I… after we…"

"After you tackled me?" you finished for him. You slid the chain back around your neck where it belonged, and wondered why you hadn't noted its absence before. "Arthur, right?"

"Yes," he answered, blushing a little with your mention of today's previous event. Then he tried to change the subject. "That's a very nice watch you have. Is it an antique?"

"Hah… not exactly." You couldn't help noticing how the light from the water reflected off his eyes, making them glow a little in the sun. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, you looked back over the railing of the bridge.

"So… is this your first year at the academy?" he asked.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Well, you were having quite a time finding your classroom this morning, if I remember correctly."

"Oh. Yeah. I'm guessing you're not new here?"

"I'm on my second year. Feel free to ask me whenever you have any questions on how things work around here. I'd be happy to help."

"Thanks."

"Well," Arthur said, turning to leave, "I'd better be off now. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"You too," you replied, watching him stride off down the path, sunlight glinting off his blonde hair.


	2. Chapter 2

As you sat in medical science class, you had a hard time keeping your mind from wandering. At first it was easy listening to the professor discuss the effects of different life-threatening diseases, but you were a little too jumpy to sit quietly and be a normal student.

Time slowly passed. You found that your eyes would stare off into the distance for minutes on end, and then snap back to the lecture as you struggled to focus. One of the students, a shorter, reddish-brown haired young man, had fallen asleep with his face in the textbook. His friend kept glaring at him through a pair of reading glasses, but he soon gave up and reverted to his normal, serious expression. To keep yourself listening, you pulled out a piece of notebook paper and began to doodle. Your pencil worked back and forth, almost without you controlling it. A face began to take shape.

Hmm… That was a start. You absent-mindedly began drawing eyes, and then a nose. Then, without thinking, you sketched a pair of thick, bushy eyebrows above them.

Wait… you recognized this face…

You penciled in some hair along with a sarcastic looking mouth. Arthur stared back at you from the paper where you had drawn him. How had _that_ happened? You added a few more lines to his eyebrows, just for good measure. Then you tore off the page and stuck it hurriedly in your backpack. Okay, that was weird, you realized. You didn't quite know what had come over you, but you hoped that no one had seen it. You were honestly a little embarrassed.

Your next class was culinary arts, which you had unconsciously been looking forward to for the majority of the day.

Inside the classroom, there were rows of counters forming a line; each station equipped with kitchen tools, burners, ovens… everything a kitchen could have or need. As you were admiring the setup, you saw someone familiar sitting alone at one of the counters, fiddling with a whisk. _What were the odds…_ you thought as you came up behind him.

"Oh, hi Arthur! I didn't know you were taking this class!" you exclaimed, thinking embarrassedly back to what you had been doing last period and deciding to banish it from your mind for all eternity.

He turned, seeming a bit startled as he quickly shoved the whisk back into its drawer. "Oh! Laurel!" You couldn't tell if it was the lighting or not, but you swore you could see him blush a little. "Hello again! Fancy seeing you here!"

Seeing as his was the only familiar face in the room, you pulled a chair out and sat down beside him. "This would be the third time today, I think."

The instructor rapped on the front desk with a wooden cooking spoon, calling the class to attention. After a quick introduction to the course, she explained that today we would be attempting to make crepes, what she described as an easy recipe for "beginners like us". Giving us a copy of the instructions, she told us to follow them with our adjacent partners.

I glanced over at Arthur as the room slowly filled with noise again. "So… have you done much cooking before?" you asked.

"Well… yes and no…" he answered.

Either he was being modest, or you had better keep an eye on him while the two of you mixed the batter.

"It's easy," you declared. "It's just like making pancakes. Everyone can make pancakes."

He didn't reply. Was he really that bad of a cook? You decided to find out for yourself. The two of you set to work measuring out ingredients.

With you supervising, the mixture turned out relatively well. After you made him pick out the shards of eggshell he had accidentally dropped in, and kept him from mistaking a teaspoon of salt for a tablespoon.

"Why don't you try frying the first one?" you insisted. "I'll show you how!"

He looked a little bit nervous, but then lightened up with your confidence. "I can try," he said, now determined.

The first crepe was a flop. Quite literally. You ended up having to clean it up off the polished floor.

The second time, you were a little more wary. As soon as he began to flip it over on the pan, you caught him before he could completely decimate his own creation. "Like this," you instructed, grabbing the handle of the spatula over his own hand. The both of you managed to flip the crepe over onto the other side fairly neatly. It was only a little overdone.

"You're doing great!" You said, noticing the embarrassed look on his face.

He didn't look so sure. "I just can't get it right," he muttered. "I don't know why. It's probably because these blasted things are from France…"

"What does that have to do with anything?" You glanced suddenly back at the crepe, which now had wisps of smoke rising from its edges. "Oh, snap! Quick! Take it off!"

By the time he had removed it from the pan, one side was almost black.

"Well, it looks as if it could be edible," you pronounced as he stared at it, his head in his hands.

By the end of evening classes, you were utterly exhausted. Not feeling that hungry, you decided to skip dinner in the dining hall, wherever that was, and find your dorm room where your luggage had been sent. As you made your way to the northernmost wing of the building, you felt a little more relaxed. The hallways were basically abandoned, an enormous contrast to the usual traffic between classes.

It took a while for you to finally reach the dormitories, but without the crowds of people, it was definitely easier to find your way around. You soon arrived at the number of your room. With the key you had received earlier that day, you swung the door open to reveal an unexpectedly spacious area, with two full beds and a variety of furnishings that gave it an elegant, yet comfortable feel. You sank down on the bed that your belongings were stacked neatly next to, but didn't feel like unpacking. Your body seemed tired enough, while your mind was too awake with the excitement the day had brought. So you decided that you should probably finish tonight's reading assignment, before the fatigue really set in. Swinging your feet up onto the mattress, you opened your history textbook and began reading at page one.

Before you knew it, you were suddenly waking to the sound of a door handle being turned. You sat upright to see a girl around your age walk into the room, closing the door behind her. Seeing you, she gave a light smile and walked over to you, extending her hand.

"Hi," she greeted. "I'm Sonia. And I'm guessing you're my roommate for the semester?"

"I guess so too," you replied. "My name's Laurel, by the way. It's nice to meet you!"

The girl's smile grew a little. A lock of her hair fell distractedly over one of her brown eyes. "Same to you!" She turned back to her own bed and leaned down to begin unpacking her luggage into one of the large chests of drawers standing by the wall. You decided it was best to do the same.

As you unpacked, the two of you got to know each other a little better. You learned that Sonia was a first year, the same as you, but that she had an older brother who also attended the academy. She told you a little about the classes, and about the different rooms to explore. Her favorite was the library, which was as large as the gymnasium and had two stories of shelves, not to mention the nicest chairs in the building.

About an hour later, the curfew knock sounded outside your door, signaling the end of the day. The two of you turned the lights down and got into bed. You were fast asleep only minutes after you crawled beneath the blankets.

Halfway through the night, you suddenly found yourself wide awake. Annoyed with yourself, you covered your head with your pillow, trying to fall back into the same peaceful dream. Unfortunately, that only made you even more alert. Figuring that shifting around restlessly wasn't going to do you any good, you slowly sat up and slid your bare feet into the pair of slippers at the foot of your bed.

You had no idea if you were allowed to leave the room or not, seeing as it was way past curfew, but you decided to find that out later. Careful not to make any noise, you opened the door and stole through into the hallway beyond.

It was incredibly quiet. Not a sound reached your ears except for that which your feet made, not a creak or a groan from anywhere in the building. You found it just a little uncanny. What you needed was some night air, but you figured that the doors to the outside would be closed and locked at this hour. What hour was it exactly? You checked the watch hanging around your neck, which you had forgotten to take off. Half past two. And yet, somehow you felt completely alert as you trotted down the hallway, without any real idea of where you were going.

You had just reached the common room when you noticed something strange. First of all, there was some sort of faint light emerging from the corridor on the other side of the room: a sort of greenish glow that shifted slightly as you stared at it. The second thing you realized was that the school wasn't silent anymore. You could hear strange noises coming from beyond, not the regular night noises that one becomes accustomed to in the dark.

Your mind was overtaken by curiosity. Throwing caution to the still air, you began making your way quickly towards the passage.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time you reached the hallway, the green glow had begun to fade. At that point you almost stopped yourself. This was ridiculous: sneaking out in the middle of the night and running around the academy, investigating paranormal activity? You imagined yourself in full Ghostbusters attire, complete with vacuum cleaner contraption for sucking up wandering spirits.

But before you realized it, you were already hurrying down the passage. Suddenly, the light completely vanished. You could no longer see where you were going: your path masked by shadows. You stopped suddenly as your eyes adjusted to the dark. That was when you heard the sound of running footsteps.

Of course you had no time to react before someone slammed straight into you, knocking your breath away as you both crashed to the floor. "What the hell—?" you coughed, trying to make sense of what had just happened. This had to be a joke. Again? You were going to have the world record for times being tackled to the ground in 24 hours… and a new set of bruises on top of the ones you received this morning

You heard some pretty vulgar words coming from beside you on the floor. But the worst part was that you recognized the voice.

"You have got to be kidding me—" you muttered with a touch of disbelief. "You agai—"

"No time! Just get up and run!" The amount of panic in his words alarmed you. But while you were pleased at the fact that Arthur recognized you, you were genuinely confused. What on earth was going on?

He stumbled to his feet and pulled you up without speaking. Whatever it was that he was running from seemed to have knocked all the usual sarcasm out of him. You felt a little scared, despite the absurdity of the situation.

"What the heck? What's going on?"

"Erm…" he glanced hurriedly to the hallway behind, nervousness penetrating his voice. "Let's just say that I may have just accidentally hexed the wrong person…"

As if on cue, a violet light began to glow faintly from beyond a corner, gradually getting closer and closer. Without giving you a chance to ask what the hell it was, Arthur grabbed your hand and yanked you down the corridor. The sound of your feet echoed on the hard floor. You could make out a strange clattering noise coming from behind you, steadily growing. The two of you tore past the common room, taking a right and weaving your way through hallways you didn't even recognize. He was leading you deeper and deeper into the school.

At first it seemed that you were going to lose whoever or whatever was following you, but gradually you noticed the noise beginning to get stronger. Whatever it was, it was catching up.

The next thing you knew, you were being shoved violently through a narrow doorway. You heard the door click shut behind you as Arthur slid down to a crouching position beside it, not saying a word. You imitated him, pressing your back against the wall and trying to adjust your eyes to the blackness. Both of you listened tensely.

"…kolkolkolkolKolKolKolKOLKOLKOLKOLKolKolKolkolkol kolkol…"

The clattering slowly subsided, moving on past your room and down the hallway. You stared at each other frozen, hardly daring to breathe as it faded away into the silence.

At last, you thought it was safe enough to let out your breath, sliding completely to the ground with your knees to your chest. Arthur seemed to loosen up beside you as well. The room you had taken refuge in wasn't exactly a room. It was more like a small closet, with a row of shelves near its back.

"Okay," you said, almost in a whisper. "Answer time."

"I should say so!" His tone was unexpectedly caustic. "What do you think you were doing up and wandering about at this time of night?"

You were a bit shocked. "Excuse me? I'd like to ask you the same question!"

"If you want to know, I was taking care of some important business."

"At two in the morning? What kind of business was that?"

He shifted uncomfortably."I already told you. I was in the middle of… hexing a certain person when I made a mistake."

"Wait, wait. Hexing? You mean like cursing? With magic flames and voodoo dolls?" You were a bit superstitious, but you weren't gullible. This had to be a joke.

"I prefer candles and chalk," he coughed.

No way. He was being serious. "So that was some sort of angry spirit charging after us in the hallway?"

"Actually, that was another student," he said bluntly.

Right. A student.

"And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some important matters I need to take care of…" He stood up in the cramped space and brushed off his shirt. Then he tried the door handle. It wouldn't budge. He tried with two hands, rattling it in hopes that it was only jammed. You watched him struggle with it, ramming his shoulder against the wooden door in frustration.

And then it dawned on you. You were locked in a tiny closet. In the middle of the night. With a person you had only met that morning.

Arthur cursed and then sank back against the wall, that same realization dawning on him. You sat there in silence, not quite knowing how to react.

"Umm… Can't you use some magic word and unlock the door?"

"Are you kidding? That's absurd! I don't even have a wand with me! Does it look like I keep magic in my pockets?" He waved his arms around frantically. Then he slumped back down to the floor beside you, his arms crossed.

"So…" you muttered, "it looks as if we're going to be here for a whole lot longer than planned."

He didn't answer.

"You could have at least picked a bigger closet…"

In the dim light from beneath the door, you could see him glowering crossly. You tried to hide a smirk.


	4. Chapter 4

You must have fallen asleep sometime during the night, because you suddenly found your eyes fluttering open in the dimness. A bit disoriented, at first you couldn't remember where you were, or what you were doing, or why your legs felt so cramped up. You weren't even laying down, you realized. Slowly, you turned your head to the left, coming almost nose to nose with a sleeping Arthur.

That pretty much shocked you back to reality. Jolting back in surprise, you realized that you had been leaning against him as you slept. You thanked your lucky stars that he was still fast asleep and hadn't seen it.

Just as you thought this, however, he began to stir. Probably because of your sudden movement. His eyes slowly opened, and then he jerked upright as soon as he saw you.

"Good morning," you mumbled. Or was it morning? You honestly had no idea how long you had been trapped in that closet. Classes had probably already begun. All you knew was that your legs were sore as heck, and you were definitely regretting not having dinner the night before. "So, what's the plan to get out of here?"

"Er—" he started, a little groggily. Suddenly, the closet door was flung wide open, bathing the two of you in light from the hallway. You both cringed in surprise and turned to face whoever it was who had found you.

"WHAT ON EARTH?" Obviously, they were just as startled as you. As your eyes adjusted, you saw one of the staff members standing above you. You recognized him as someone from the music department: maybe the orchestra director. His shocked expression rapidly changed to one of severity. "And just what do you think you're doing in here, you two? Does this look like a snog closet to you?"

You didn't say anything. Arthur jumped up, flushing red and straightening his tie.

"I-I can explain, sir—"

"I understand perfectly well, young man! You should know that this sort of conduct is extremely disgraceful! Do you want to tarnish the reputation of our academy?"

Neither of you answered.

And that was how you landed yourself in the detention hall on the second day of the school year.

"So… What're you two in for?" A roguish looking guy with pale hair slid over to your end of the table, grinning widely. The three of you were the only students in the room.

You glanced at Arthur, who was sitting across from you, a scowl permanently fixed on his face. "Buzz off, Gilbert," he muttered irritably. You could tell he was in an extra-touchy mood, so you decided not to say anything.

"I thought your teenage delinquent days were over! You tired of the gentleman act?"

"I am NOT a delinquent!" Arthur brought his textbook up to his face, trying to shut him out.

"Hey, you should be proud of yourself!" Gilbert swung his feet up and onto the table, leaning back in his chair to get a glimpse past the book. "Everyone has their phases! Except me. I've been this awesome all my life!"

Arthur slammed his textbook down onto the table. "SHUT UP, YOU BLOODY IDIOT!"

You realized that you were staring, and quickly reverted back to scribbling notes down on paper. Seeing as you had missed the first half of the day, you had plenty of work to make up. You just hoped that your parents wouldn't hear about what had happened… you had never gotten detention before, and they would probably have a heart attack.

You managed to ignore Gilbert's pestering for the rest of the two hours, and were enormously relieved when you were released back to the dormitories.

That was definitely a wonderful start to the year. Tackled twice, locked in a tiny closet, and then sentenced to the room of boredom all in two short days.

On your way out the door, you heard someone calling your name.

"Hey, Laurel!" Alfred bounded up to you, grinning. "I heard about what went on last night!" He winked.

_Oh, God…_ You felt your stomach sink.

Alfred put a hand on your shoulder. "Seriously, I had no idea he had it in him!"

"Who? What?"

"So tell me," he cupped a hand around the side of his mouth and whispered in your ear, "is Arthur a good kisser?"

"EXCUSE ME?!" You yanked yourself away in shock.

"Oh, come on! Everyone in the school practically knows how—"

"ALFRED!" You turned to see Arthur marching up towards you. He looked as if he was about to stuff his fist down the other's throat. He grabbed Alfred's shirt and began dragging him away, fuming.

The whole scene would have been pretty comical, except for the fact that you were utterly mortified by the fact that apparently rumors had been spread about you two throughout the entire campus.

Not wanting to face any more people that day, you made your way back to your dorm room. You suddenly felt extremely tired, and all you wanted was to get some sleep, after a day like this.

Sonia was sitting on her bed when you opened the door and slid inside.

"There you are, Laurel," she said. "I haven't seen you all day! I was a bit worried when I woke up and saw that you weren't here." Apparently the rumors hadn't reached everyone. You didn't feel like explaining anything to anyone at the moment.

"Umm, just a medical emergency. I'd rather not talk about it right now."

She seemed to understand.

Both of you began preparations for bed. You talked a little while you organized your things again, but soon the conversation died down due to how tired you both were. You grabbed some pajamas and headed towards the bathroom.

Suddenly, everything went dark. "W-what just happened?" You felt a creeping sensation up your neck. "Where'd the lights go?"

Then, out of the blue, the lights returned. You saw Sonia's startled face on the other side of the room. "What was that?" you heard her ask.

Then the crazy part began. The light began to turn on and off, over and over like someone was flicking the switch up and down, up and down. Even the lamps were flickering, flashing spookily in some chaotic rhythm.

The two of you froze, staring at each other, and then up at the light fixtures. "What on earth—"

"Do you feel that?" you interrupted as a cold chill washed over you. There weren't any window open, so why did you feel a draft up your neck?

"What is that?" You heard a note of fear in Sonia's voice. You were beginning to be creeped out yourself.

Then, almost as soon as it had begun, the flickering stopped. The lights went back to their steady glow, and the sudden chill vanished. You both remained still, not knowing what to say, or what to do.

A minute passed. Finally, you sank onto your bed.

"Okay… So please tell me that was just some freak power surge…" Your voice shook a little, against your will.

Sonia stirred from her motionless position. "That doesn't make sense. The power system here at the academy is flawless." She stood up. "Maybe it was just a prank of some sort. People playing with the electrical switches." You could tell that she was trying to sound reassuring. You doubted that anyone would even be able to get access to any switches like that, if there were any.

But right now, that was the only explanation you had.

However reluctant you were to shut the lights off and try to sleep, the two of you decided that this was the only option. You would ask around in the morning, and everything would be explained. As you slid underneath the covers, you tried to focus your thoughts on other things.

_This school is not haunted… This school is not haunted… This school is not haunted…_


	5. Chapter 5

"…And then it all stopped. Just stopped. No more on and off, no more chills… nothing." You finished your telling of last night's events and sat back, watching everyone's expressions.

Alfred had invited you to sit with him and his friends at lunch break, and you had gratefully accepted. You were definitely surrounded by some strange characters, but it beat sitting alone. You did notice, with a slight amount of regret, that Arthur was nowhere in sight.

"WOAH!" Alfred's face lit up with excitement as he stared wide-eyed at you. "So, your room is like, haunted or something! That's so cool!"

"Isn't that… a little scary, though?" You heard a soft voice beside you.

"What?" Alfred turned. "Oh! Matthew! I forgot you were sitting there! Anyways," he continued, "I totally know who you should talk to about this ghost problem!" Alfred stood up and looked down the table, searching for a face. "Hey, Kiku!" he shouted, spotting him. "Come over here a sec, bro!"

Presently, a small Japanese student walked over and sat down at your end of the table. "Kiku, this is Laurel!" Alfred exclaimed. "Laurel, this is Kiku Honda! He's good at dealing with spirits and that sort of stuff, aren't you, Kiku?"

He nodded politely. "I am somewhat familiar with their ways." His voice was calm and composed.

"See?" Alfred beamed. "We'll get this guy to take a look and see what's up!"

Alright. So now you had a ghost specialist coming to investigate your bedroom.

You had finished eating your lunch, and so you thanked Alfred and stood up, deciding to take this chance to see more of the campus. Yet as you started up the hallway, you realized that you had a different motive in mind. You wanted to find Arthur. You were in need of some answers after what had happened two nights ago, and you planned on finding them. Who knows, maybe he had something to do with this haunting business…

The problem was, you had no idea where to look for him. He could be anywhere, you realized. Even as you were thinking this, you turned your head to the right and saw the bronze-rimmed double doors to the library. Immediately, you headed towards them. If there was anywhere in the academy he would show up, it would be in the quiet grandness of the library. It suited his personality, you thought.

You turned the handle and pushed the huge door inwards, slipping inside and making sure it silently closed. Then you looked around. Light flooded into the massive room below from a warped glass dome high above you, illuminating the hundreds upon hundreds of bookshelves filling every corner. Staircases lead upwards to a balcony where shelves rose so high it looked as if you could never reach them. You felt a bit overwhelmed, but also amazed as you slowly tried to take it all in. It was beautiful.

Suddenly, you remembered why you were here in the first place. You began walking through the rows of books, searching the aisles for a sign of Arthur.

There were quite a few comfortable nooks scattered about in corners around the room, furnished with large, leather chairs and bronze floor lamps. This place would be great for studying, you thought. You would have to keep this in mind the next time you needed some peace or some test preparation. But as you wove your way around the room, Arthur was nowhere in sight.

You had just about given up hope when you reached the southernmost corner and peered around a bookshelf. There he was, sitting at a desk, surrounded by a pile of thick, dusty-looking books.

"Oh! Hello there! What a pleasant surprise!"

The weird part was that he wasn't talking to you. He was talking to the air.

You watched from behind the bookshelves as he stood up from his chair, cracking a smile and setting down the volume he had been flipping through.

"You all came to see me? How nice of you!" he laughed. "Hey, stop that nudging!" You had never seen him anywhere near this elated before. It felt pretty awkward standing there watching, but you didn't really know how to react.

"Alright, alright! Settle down!" He paused for a moment. "You do? Really? Don't worry, I'll take care of it! You'd better hurry up, it's a long way, and I've got classes. What do you mean I don't need them? Everyone does. Yes, I promise to visit as soon as I can. You'd better be off now. Say hello to mint bunny for me!" He waved to the empty air. "Have a safe trip!" He turned around in your direction, and you quickly ducked out of view.

You pressed your back against the shelf. What on earth had you just seen? You decided to pretend that you hadn't been eavesdropping on his private, delusional conversations.

You heard footsteps. He was coming this way. Just as he turned the corner, you stepped out to greet him.

"Hi."

He jumped, almost crashing into a bookshelf before quickly regaining his composure. "Laurel! Oh, hello…"

"We need to talk," you said, sliding into a chair conveniently positioned to your left. You added a pause for dramatic effect. "What actually happened two nights ago?"

He cleared his throat, color rising in his cheeks. "Actually I'd rather not bring that up—"

"You knocked me over in the hallway in the middle of the night and shoved me into a closet! I think I deserve a solid explanation!"

His regular brusqueness settled back in. "I already told you! I was in the middle of cursing someone. It's a complicated process, which requires the right timing and conditions."

"Alright. Who were you hexing then?"

"What does it matter?"

"I want to know what's going on! This all seems pretty shady to me…"

"My methods of revenge are my business!"

"Was it Alfred?"

"What? No!"

"Then who else are you angry with?"

"Fine!" he growled irately. "If you have to know, I've been trying for ages to get back at that narcissistic French bastard, Francis Bonnefoy for ages! I almost had him, too, before the whole spell went haywire!" He shuddered angrily. "Everything always goes wrong for me! Everything!"

Francis Bonnefoy… that name sounded familiar. Was he that blonde guy who you saw occasionally walking by with his arm around a pretty girl or two? You could see why he was jealous. Realizing you were in the touchy zone, you decided to retreat and change the subject.

"So you really can use magic? Are you some sort of a witch?"

Arthur seemed to lighten up, evidently proud of his abilities. "You can call me a professional sorcerer. The dark arts happen to be my prowess."

You decided to go along. "Okay, then. Maybe you can show me how it works some other time."

"Well, I could reveal to you a bit of my talent, but you would have to be a member of the Witchcraft Club."

"Wait… there's a club?"

"Of course we have a club! If you're interested… maybe you could show up for a meeting?"

Wow, was he actually inviting you to come? You felt a bit flattered, even though it was an invitation to some underground, paranormal cult.

You were about to reply when the sound of the bell cut off your conversation.

Arthur looked up, and then towards you. "Well, I'd better be going. I'll see you later, Laurel." he set off hurriedly down the aisle of bookshelves and towards the main entrance. You sighed and gathered up your books. Medical science class wasn't going to wait for you.


	6. Chapter 6

Following instructions is a vitally important step in the intricate process of baking. At least, that was what you had been trying to impart to Arthur during the past few days. No matter how relentlessly you supervised him, each time he touched the kitchen equipment resulted in a complete disaster. You felt a bit sorry for him.

Culinary Arts class was looking more hopeful than usual that day. Arthur, however, was not.

The two of you had spent the beginning of the hour stirring up cake batter. You hadn't done much coaching, deciding that it might only make him feel worse. But you needn't have worried about that, seeing as he was already in the depths of his despair.

You could tell because of the chief topic of conversation. Which was, of course, his hopelessness at cooking. No matter how many times you assured him that he _wasn't_ the worst cook in the world, and that his creations _weren't_ an entire catastrophe, and that he probably _would_ get better with time, nothing seemed to improve his mood.

"I have the worst luck of anyone in this entire academy," he ranted as you watched the cake rise in the oven. "I'm a disgrace! No matter what I try, everything always goes wrong."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," you said honestly.

He sighed. "I just don't see why this is so difficult. Everyone else can make a decent meal! It's humiliating, really!"

"Is that why you signed up for this class then?"

He gave you a questioning look.

"You're tired of people making fun of your cooking?"

He crossed his arms dejectedly. "I thought perhaps that this would change things… That I would finally be able to prove to everyone else that I _am_ capable of making good food!"

You turned towards him. "Maybe you're treating this like a bigger deal than it actually is. I mean, not everyone is cut out to be a master chef! I'm sure there are tons of other things that you're fantastic at, so you shouldn't be so worried about your baking skills. It's a part of life! We all have different talents." You paused a moment, realizing you were beginning to sound like a therapist. Maybe you should have taken a psychology class. You never know, perhaps one of your talents was talking the problems out of depressed people.

"Anyway, why should you give up on your cooking just yet?" you continued. "It's only the beginning of the year. Improvement comes with time."

Despite your improvised pep talk, Arthur didn't seem overly encouraged. Before either of you could say anything else, the oven light caught your eye.

"Hey! It looks like our culinary masterwork is baked and ready to go!" You tried to sound hopeful as you slid on the oven mitts and pulled open the heavy door.

The cake looked perfectly fine from inside the oven. Then again, (at the risk of sounding clichéd) appearances can be deceptive. You hoisted it out and set it down on the cooling rack, stepping back to assess its condition.

"Wow…" You gazed doubtfully at the thing before you. "It doesn't look bad at all!"

The two of you allowed it to cool and then removed it from the pan. You were supposed to slice off the top, dome-shaped area for a more professional looking cake, resulting in a wedge of unusable cake that would not be needed in the final project. Both of you knew what this meant.

"Er… You go ahead and try it," Arthur offered nervously.

"Oh, no you don't. You made this cake too. You're going to see how it tastes at the same time as I do." You cut off two small pieces and handed him one. "On the count of three…" you began.

"One… two…"

You eyed the piece apprehensively. You hoped it wasn't toxic, but there was only one way to find out.

"Three!"

Facing each other, you and Arthur bravely took a bite of the cake.

Immediately, your eyes widened. You swallowed and looked across at your partner.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" You couldn't contain your amazement you felt as the achievement sank in. "This tastes fantastic! You really did it this time, Arthur!"

You could tell he could hardly believe it himself. His expression was a mix of bewilderment and disbelief as he stood for a moment, too shocked to speak.

And then Arthur Kirkland broke into the most enormous smile you had ever seen on his face.

…

The rest of the school day progressed inch by inch, until at last dinner had ended and the academy settled into the relaxed, subdued calm that filled the halls as students began to wind down for the night. Despite the tranquil atmosphere, you hurried towards your dorm room. Supposedly, Alfred and Kiku would be paying you a visit sometime that evening to investigate the weird light shenanigans that had been troubling you nearly all day. You weren't too keen to spend another night in that room without knowing what was going on.

You reached your door number and turned the handle. But before you could go further, the door swung open violently all on its own. Inside the doorway was Sonia, eyes wide with what was unmistakably fear.

"Laurel!" She managed to say. "Thank God you're here! It happened again!"

"What? You mean the lights?"

She shook her head dumbly. "Worse than that!" She retreated from the doorway, allowing you to see into the room beyond. Everything was upside down. Almost everything. Lamps were balanced on their shades, books flipped over, everything smaller than a chest of drawers had been set upon its opposite side in the exact place it had been that morning.

"They were like that when I flicked the lights on! It almost gave me a heart attack!"

You stepped in and looked around the room, speechless for a moment. You had definitely not been expecting this.

"Whoa! What happened in here?" You heard Alfred's voice behind you, and turned to see him and Kiku standing beyond the open door.

"Well, you two are just in time…" you muttered.

Alfred spotted Sonia as he came in. "Oh, hi! You must be Laurel's roommate!"

"Alfred and Kiku, this is Sonia… Sonia this is Alfred and Kiku. There here to see if our room is haunted…"

"That's us!" Alfred cut in before Sonia had a chance to react. "Hmm… Do you guys usually decorate this way?" He poked an upside down vase standing on top of your dresser.

"That wasn't us. We don't exactly know how everything… happened."

"Really?!" His eyes gleamed with excitement. "This is like one of those horror movies with flying knives and phantoms and everything! This is great!" He pumped his fist in the air.

You sighed. "Shouldn't you let the specialist decide whether this isn't all a joke?"

All eyes turned to Kiku. He had been standing silently near the door, surveying the scene.

"So you can tell what's going on here?" Sonia asked him, uncertain.

"I'm not sure." The three of you stood back, allowing him to walk around the room, standing in certain areas for a few moments before moving on. A minute passed before he spoke.

"There is definitely something strange going on in this room."

"So you're saying there is a ghost in here?"

"Not anymore. Our presence probably disturbed it or frightened it away, but it will most likely come back. Ghosts are very sensitive. At least that is how it is in my country. You should try appeasing it." He suddenly looked you straight in the eyes. "Have either of you by any chance been cursed recently?"

"Umm, not by my knowledge!" You were a bit worried. All this paranormal stuff was going straight over your head. But what worried you was that you were beginning to believe it…

Sonia shook her head. "Do you think it's haunting one of us?"

"That's unlikely. But there must be a reason why a spirit would linger here. Unfortunately, I am not the expert Alfred has made me out to be. We'll need to find someone with more experience."

Experience with the supernatural.

You knew just the person.

Minutes later, the four of you had successfully intruded the privacy of Arthur Kirkland's dorm room.


	7. Chapter 7

Arthur Kirkland was not in his room.

It had become evident with one glance as soon as the four of you had entered that you would have to find help elsewhere. Of course this is where you had expected him to be, but now that he wasn't, you were at a dead end.

"Well, this isn't getting us any farther…" You muttered. "Where has he got to?" You didn't want to have to wait until tomorrow to get this matter at least partly straightened out.

Alfred scratched his head. "Man. I saw him headed here after dinner, so I assumed that we would find him here. He's probably off hiding somewhere. I've known him all my life, but he still acts mysterious sometimes!"

Not intending to be creepy or anything, you walked over to inspect the desk you assumed was Arthur's. The one with half-burned candles lined across the back. "So you guys have been friends for life?" You couldn't help being curious. "Why does he act like he hates you at times?"

Alfred chuckled a little. "Oh, don't worry about Arthur. He acts all cynical and rigid, but we're not enemies or anything!... He's like my older brother." You caught a glimpse of his smile. It was calmer than usual, and looked somehow… far away. "We've had our disagreements… but, well, I don't know. It feels like we can't ever actually be separated. We're both in this world together, no matter how either of us acts."

His smile faded for a split second, and you noticed Kiku watching him with a strangely understanding expression. For a fleeting moment, you felt like you were invading something deeper than you realized.

Then Alfred turned back to you with an enormous grin stretching across his face. "Plus, he'd never be able to get rid of me, anyway!" You smiled at the familiar sparkle in his eyes.

"Hey, what is that?" he exclaimed suddenly, almost leaping over to the desk. He snatched up something soft-looking from in between a pile of thick books and a jar of translucent sand. "Aww!" He held it up with evident glee. "Arthur has a stuffy unicorn! It's so adorable! Look, Kiku!"

You could swear you saw Kiku's eyes grow bigger as he stared at it. You were trying desperately to hold back laughter, and from what you could see, Sonia was as well.

That was when the cringe-worthy thud of falling books sounded from the hallway behind. All four of you twisted around guiltily to see Arthur himself standing outside the open door, shocked speechless by the scene before him. For some bizarre reason, he was dressed in a long, black cape, with a dark hood over his usual blonde head of hair. You were aware of another figure standing in his shadow.

He emitted a few strangled noises before his words returned. "What… what the bloody hell is going on in here?! Who let you in our room?!" Finally getting over his initial shock, he breezed crossly through the doorway with the second student in tow.

You decided to speak up and attempt to smooth things over. "Um, we came to ask for your help, but you weren't here. We were just about to leave to find you…"

"Your pet unicorn is very cute," Kiku piped up for the first time.

He caught sight of the stuffed toy, blushed intensely, and snatched it protectively from Alfred. You tried to suppress a grin.

"Is this your roommate?" You asked, turning your attention to the unfamiliar figure in the room, who had taken off his hood.

"This is Vladimir," he finally introduced, still irate. "Yes, we share a room."

You shook the student's hand, taking in his cropped brown hair and narrow eyes. "I'm happy to meet you," he told you. His voice was thickly accented, but you weren't sure what sort of a lilt it was. Romanian, maybe? He seemed very friendly. "Is your name Laurel?" he asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Arthur cut in before he had a chance to reply. "Alright, are you all going to tell me why you're here before I send you all out? How did you even get in here? I thought the door was locked!"

Alfred just laughed.

"Perhaps Laurel would like to explain the situation," Kiku pronounced.

You took a deep breath. "Well, you see… We need you to help Sonia and I find out the cause of some unusual things happening in our dorm room." He listened, trying to act like he wasn't interested. You knew he was. He had that look in his eyes. "I was hoping because of your experience you would come and check it out for us."

He fidgeted. "What do you mean by unusual things happening?"

"You know, like the _paranormal_…" That caught his attention. But he was still acting sore.

"I'll have to think about it…"

"Oh, come on, Arthur! We need your help! I mean, you know more about this sort of stuff than ANY of us, don't you? You're like a professional!"

He stood up straighter, obviously pleased. "Well… I suppose I could come have a brief look," he gave in.

"Okay! Let's go!" You grabbed him suddenly by the sleeve, pulling him through the doorway and out into the hall.

"Erk—! What?! Now?!"

You heard Alfred's amused laughter following behind, and you smiled secretly.

* * *

**AN: Hey, there! Now that you've read this far, I'd love to hear what you have to say! Leave me a review with any comments, theories you have, or even interesting moments you would like to see in future chapters. Input is greatly appreciated! ^_^**

**Thanks for reading, and have nice day!**

**-Confessions of a Yandere**


	8. Chapter 8

You must have caused quite the scene, the six of you tramping down the hallway like some crazy cult procession. Two of you were in black robes, and one (you noted as you dragged him by the arm) was still clutching a stuffed unicorn. Luckily, at this time in the evening there were few students in the halls… still, you managed to snag a few weird looks as you passed.

Reaching your room number, you swung the door open and stepped aside as everyone crowded in. For a moment, you wondered how you had managed to collect all these people. Alfred was obviously here for entertainment, Arthur was here because you had towed him, Kiku was trying to help, and Vladimir had probably tagged along not knowing what else to do…

You gave up the mental role call as Arthur began glancing around the room. Instantly you became acutely conscious of the fact that all these people were, in fact, inside your bedroom, and felt eternally grateful that you hadn't left clothes on the floor or your bed unmade or anything horrendous like that. You weren't at all a messy person, but, after all, you hadn't exactly been expecting company.

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with the place." Arthur surveyed the scene with his usual apathy.

Then he froze. "Hold on a moment…" He frowned, eyes scanning the ceiling.

At that, everyone else stopped and stared, waiting for a verdict. The entire room held its breath.

Arthur whirled around suddenly, glaring at everyone as if he had just realized he had an audience. "What are you all doing here? Go away." He began shooing everyone out of the room before you could react.

"Aww, come on…" Alfred began as he clung to the door frame.

"Out," Arthur demanded, his hand on the door knob. "And don't come back in until I've finished. No exceptions." He slammed the door in Alfred's face with an air of finality.

Apparently banished to the hallway, you leaned against the wall. Beside you was Vladimir, whom you noticed was still loyally holding the pile of books Arthur had dropped. He probably had no idea what to do with them, just as you hadn't the faintest idea what you were supposed to do with an unsupervised sorcerer running amuck in your dorm room.

"What's he doing in there?" Alfred had his ear glued to the door's wooden surface, trying to make sense of the muffled thuds and other weird noises.

"Solving the problem, hopefully." Sonia looked a bit out of it as the slid down the wall to a sitting position on the floor. Poor girl. She was probably tired and nervous and done with the whole haunting thing. You were beginning to feel that way as well, but there was still a lot of restless excitement built up inside you.

Alfred released his ear from the door, grinning evilly as he snatched the dark cloak Vladimir had taken off and threw it dramatically over his head and shoulders. He hunched his back and began waving a pencil madly around the air like a psychotic orchestra director. "Abracadabra!" You laughed at his false voice, dripping with drama and vibrato. He pointed the pencil at you, making ghost noises. "Be gone, demonic plague!" You clasped your hands around your throat, making exaggerated gagging noises as you fell theatrically to your knees. Sonia laughed.

At that same moment, an enormous crash sounded from the room behind, causing Alfred to drop his pencil. You could hear Arthur's voice through the door— what on earth was he shouting at?

"What the—"

"Technical difficulties?"

You stretched your hand towards the door handle. "I have to see what happening," you muttered aloud.

"He said not to go in," Kiku reminded.

"Oh, come on!" Alfred joined you at the door. "There's totally exciting stuff going down in there!"

Before anyone else could protest, you turned the handle and burst the door wide open.

You didn't know what you had been expecting to see, but it certainly hadn't been your bushy-eyebrowed friend halfway inside an air vent.

"Arthur?"

His cloak was lying in a heap on the floor, next to a chair that had been pulled up next to the wall. On top of the chair stood a torso on a pair of legs, but Arthur's head and shoulders were lost inside the rather large air duct. He had somehow managed to remove the grill from the vent, and now was making a ruckus. Reaching for something.

"ARTHUR?" You called again, your mind in desperate need of an explanation.

You heard something bang against the metal inside of the vent with a hollow sound, followed by even more cursing as a blonde head began to emerge. The wooden legs of the chair creaked dangerously.

"Careful—!" Your warning was a bit too late. You watched as Arthur swung around, tipped the chair off balance, and came tumbling over backwards with a crash. Cringing, you hurried towards the wreckage.

"DUDE, are you okay?" Alfred stepped through the doorway, looking like he was about to burst out laughing. The others peered over his shoulder.

"DAMMIT…" You heard Arthur's voice as he peeled himself off your floor. You picked up the fallen chair and set it upright as he struggled unsteadily to his feet, clutching his head. "I lost it! I almost caught it and then it got away!" He ranted on, paying you no attention.

"Caught what?" Sonia rushed over, eyeing the open air duct.

He turned towards her, dropping his hand from the top of his head. "Whatever it was that's been haunting you… That's for certain." He sniffed and brushed off his jacket.

"Do ghosts usually hide in ventilation shafts?" You peered up into the gaping hole above your head.

"Maybe it likes the fresh air!" Alfred cut in. Arthur gave him a glare.

"It could be using the air system as an easy way to travel throughout the building." At the sound of his voice, everyone turned to look at Kiku. "That could be how it keeps out of sight."

"The vents all lead up to the maintenance floor," Sonia joined in. "Or you could call it the attic, I suppose. Do you think…" Her attention shifted to Arthur, seeing if he would lend some wisdom. Arthur appeared to be lost in thought, until he suddenly spoke aloud.

"Something about this seems… strange. I can't lay a finger on it. I'm not sure if we're dealing with a normal ghost…"

_There's such thing as a 'normal ghost'?_ You thought.

Arthur suddenly stood up straighter. "We'll have to look into this. I suggest that we take our chances and try to find whatever it is on the top floor."

"Does that mean—"

"WE'RE GOING GHOSTBUSTING! HECK YEAH!" Alfred interrupted again, standing on top of a chair with a fist in the air. Arthur muttered something about being disruptive while you took a moment to reflect on what exactly you had gotten yourself into.

* * *

**AN: HEY THERE! In case you're curious, the story that my lovely friend Laurel is writing me in exchange for this one is on here too! Go take a look and leave her a review for me... ^_^ after you review mine, of course. ;)  
It's called _Dazed and Confused_ by Anitalife. I would post a link, but that would defy the laws of space and time.  
Go give her some loves!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Flashlight… check. Sneakers… check. Garlic chain… hmm, I should probably look into that._

You rummaged around through your belongings, trying to think of what you would be needing for your little "expedition" that night.

Thursday had passed like a blur, the first half of Friday following quickly in its wake. To your relief, Friday classes ended earlier in the day than any other days, leaving you with a whole afternoon of free time. _Or homework time,_ a small part of your brain whispered, but after all, you hadn't been given too much work to do.

Realizing you were lacking obviously an any real ghost-chasing gear, you sighed and sat down on the edge of your bed, watching as Sonia packed away some of her belongings for the weekend. She was going to stay at her parents' house until Sunday evening, like a majority of the students that attended. You, however, weren't so lucky. It would have taken an entire day of travelling to make it back through the doors of your house, and even though you missed your family, you weren't about waste your entire weekend sitting on a plane seat or in a train compartment.

On the bright side, at least you weren't alone. There were at least fifty other students that hung around all through the weekend same as you, living fully at school until the holidays swung around. Your heart had given a happy jump when you learned that most of your new friends were staying as well. Which meant, of course, that Friday evening was a fabulous time for your scheduled ghost bust.

"I'm sorry you have to miss all the excitement tonight," You began, not wanting Sonia to feel out of the loop.

She gave a short, amused laugh. "You guys will do fine without me! And you'd better solve the problem too, while I'm away. I don't want to get back in two days to find creepy writing on the wall, or a skeleton in the closet." She winked at you, zipping up her suitcase and standing up on her feet. "Anyways, I'll be looking forward to getting back on Sunday! I'm so glad to have you as my roommate, and this first week has been really great, even with all the… you know." She wiggled her fingers and made a scary face.

You smiled, thinking the same thing. "Thanks! I hope you have a great time with your family."

The two of you said your goodbyes as Sonia headed out the door. Then you slid off of the bed.

The great thing about weekends was the fact that, since school wasn't technically in session, you finally got to ditch your uniform and wear some casual clothes (whoopee!). You threw a mental party as you stuffed your blazers and skirts away into your drawers. Why did schools have to force you into clothing like this, anyhow? You almost missed your high school days, when it was nearly common to have people show up for morning class in their pajama pants and sweatshirts.

Banishing your stuffy uniform attire to the deepest parts of the wardrobe, you victoriously pulled out and donned a regular cotton t-shirt and your favorite pair of jeans. Much better. You were ready for the weekend.

All of a sudden, a knock sounded from the door. "Heyyy~!" came Alfred's ever-lively voice from outside in the hallway. You pulled open the door and stepped back as he almost fell in on top of you.

"Laurel! Hey ho!" He beamed, catching himself on the doorframe. "I brought you something to get you ready for tonight!" He held out a fist with a white paper bag, printed with familiar golden arches.

"Wow, umm…" You accepted the offering, his contagious smile spreading slightly onto your face. "Where on earth did you get this?" You stared at the bag in your hand, still warm. As far as you knew, there wasn't any McDonalds on campus.

Alfred only laughed, as if that was worth an explanation. "Well, come on! We're going out to the East grounds before the afternoon's over! You can take that with you!" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed you by the arm and towed you out into the hallway.

"Oi—act like a gentleman, will you?" Arthur appeared behind Alfred, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance before he turned to you and gave a slight smile.

"Nice sweater," you exclaimed. His usual blazer had been replaced by a red, knitted pullover, complete with a gold stripe and a large 'GRYFFINDOR' spelled out across the chest.

"Why, thank you," he replied as the three of you began walking down the hallway and towards the outer doors. Before you knew it, you were pushing them open and stepping out into the open air.

Outside at last, you blinked in the autumn sunlight and glanced around at the scattered groups of students out on the grounds. This place seemed to be the hub of activity on Friday afternoons, especially with such pleasant weather. The leaves of the trees had just begun to turn gold, and in the sunshine they almost appeared to glow. Alfred led you over to a bench, where several other students had already formed a circle.

"Hi, Kiku! Matt! Gil!" You greeted some of the ones you recognized. "Um, is anyone hungry?" You held up your McDonalds bag. Soon you found yourself sitting down in the grass as part of the group, sharing french-fries and talking about your plans for the weekend.

"It's too bad most of the single ladies aren't staying all week long!" Declared a third year, flipping his long blonde hair over his shoulder. What was his name again? Francis? "We could have gotten away with a little more without all the extra staff hanging around~!"

"It's also too bad that every girl around here knows that you're an ugly, narcissistic stalker," Arthur growled.

"Excuse-moi? And when was the last time a girl showed any interest in _you_? The 16th century?"

"That's none of your business, you frog face!"

"Kesesesese~!" Gilbert laughed.

"They always argue like this," Alfred whispered into your ear. You raised an eyebrow.

"Incoming pasta-lover!" Francis declared suddenly, looking up.

"Veeeeeeeeeeeeeh~!" The noise grew louder behind you as a small, reddish-haired first year careened into Kiku's side, trapping him in a hug.

"Kiku! Kiku! Lutz is being all grouchy and he won't play soccer with me!"

Kiku got over his initial shock and tried to slowly extricate himself from the student's embrace, his face turning red. He was saved when a young man with short brown hair and a bright smile stood up. "Hey, Feliciano! Why don't you play a game with me instead?"

Feliciano released his Japanese friend. "Toni!" He stood up, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Here! I've got a soccer ball! Let's have a kicking competition!" Alfred exclaimed, pulling out a ball from his bag.

"That's a _football_, not a soccer ball." Arthur crossed his arms "Uncultured twit."

"What are you talking about? _This_ is a football!" Alfred pulled out a new ball and punted it at Arthur's face.

Five minutes and a fistfight later, your group had managed to start a game of pass. At first you had just wanted to watch, but Alfred had insisted by pushing you into the circle and kicking the ball over to your feet.

"C'mon! Just give it a kick!" he shouted at you. You paused uncertainly at the round object in front of your toes. Okay then. Here goes nothing.

Hoping desperately that you weren't about to embarrass yourself, you wound your leg back and swung at the ball as hard as you could.

Good news: you were pretty good at kicking things hard and fast.

Bad news: you WEREN'T very good at aiming.

The soccer ball flew up into the air, over your friends, and landed with a solid thunk on the back of someone's head.

_Oh… crap._

As soon as everyone turned around and realized what you had done, they stopped talking and paled. As a matter of fact, almost every student in the grounds froze, looking white as ghosts once they saw what had just happened.

_Why is everyone acting so weird?_ You asked yourself, feeling a sense of dread.

The guy you had nailed on the head was extremely tall, and was wearing a mint green sweater with a white scarf wrapped around his neck. The three smaller students by him were shaking like leaves as he slowly turned around and stared at all of us, a smile still on his face. For some reason, you didn't find the smile very reassuring.

_Crappity, crap crap…_

"Hmm, who does this belong to?" he asked in a thick Russian accent, plucking up the ball from the ground. His voice didn't sound threatening… in fact it sounded pretty pleasant. But something about his smile seriously creeped you out, not to mention the petrified faces of his companions.

"Umm…" you squeaked, fearing for your life as you prepared to raise your hand.

"Aha… that would be mine." Came a familiar British accent from your right.

You stared at Arthur as he stood beside you, visibly sweating, a nervous smile etched across his face.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for a reaction from the tall Russian.

His smile held. "You should work on aim next time. That was quite a bad shot, da?" He turned to the smallest person beside him. "Raivis. Take this back where it belongs." The tiny student cringed and nodded as he was handed the ball. Then he scurried over towards your group like lightning.

The entire grounds sighed out of relief as the Russian turned back around. Conversation slowly resumed around you.

"Are you okay?" You heard a small voice beside you, and looked down to see Raivis clutching Alfred's soccer ball.

"Um, yes," you answered, still a bit freaked.

"I-I saw that you were the one who kicked it… I promise I won't tell! But you're really lucky that Ivan was in a good mood…" He was still trembling as he gave you a weak smile. "Here," he handed you the ball. "I-I'd better get back now…"

"Thanks," you said as he darted away. Then you turned to Arthur. "Why did you do that?"

He shifted. "Er—um… It was better me than you. And it was an accident after all."

"That was pretty brave, though. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to review! Special thanks to all of you who already have. ^_^ **

**And remember, kids. Don't go nailing Russia on the head with soccer balls. It can have adverse effects on your health.**

******_kolkolkol_**


End file.
